PTCL demands swift approval of merger

Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) and Ufone 4G President and Group Chief Executive Officer Hatem Bamatraf has called for speedy approval of the PTCL-Telenor merger transaction and warned that the amalgamation agreement may be affected due to certain timelines.

Talking to media on Monday, the CEO said that they had submitted all documents to the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) pertaining to the merger. "We are surprised over the delay in the transaction for the last one year," he said, adding that Etisalat had been engaging in such transactions in other countries, which did not face such delay.

He pointed out that there were certain timelines in the transaction agreement that could affect the PTCL-Telenor merger.

Another PTCL official said that they were expecting further growth in PTCL following its merger with Telenor.

Hatem Bamatraf called unfair the delay on the part of competition body in granting approval to the merger with Telenor Pakistan. "We are waiting for the approval and are surprised over the delay; it should not have taken place," he said while responding to a query from the media.

On the occasion, the PTCL management presented financial results for the first quarter of calendar year 2025.

The company CEO said that PTCL had compiled documents for the CCP and the announcement of the decision was critical. He even referred to the investment made by Etisalat in Pakistan and other markets where the UAE-based company was operating.

Bamatraf added that if the required permission from the CCP was not received in time, the loan agreement between PTCL and the International Finance Corporation – a member of the World Bank group – might not be completed.

The financial results for the period from January-March 2025 showed that the company maintained its loss-making track despite a 22% revenue growth during the quarter.

The revenue of the PTCL group in the three months was Rs61.85 billion, but the group faced a net loss of Rs3.97 billion. The three main entities of the PTCL group were PTCL, Ufone and Ubank.

The key reason for the continuous loss incurred by PTCL was the financial condition of Ufone, which was in the red, despite a 21% revenue increase in the first three months of 2025. However, PTCL made a net profit of Rs1.17 billion.